Blue Note Records, a jazz institution, is celebrating its 70th birthday with a tour that combines talents from the genre’s rising stars.

Under the direction of pianist Bill Charlap, the Blue Note 7 — Nicholas Payton on trumpet, Ravi Coltrane and Steve Wilson on saxophone, guitarist Peter Bernstein, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash — released Mosaic: 70 Years of Blue Note Records.

A collection of this caliber begs for the road, and Louisville is one of 51 cities the ensemble will hit this year, promising a cross-section of timeless favorites from the label’s gargantuan catalog.

Tickets for the 7 p.m. March 15 all-ages show at the Kentucky Center’s Bomhard Theater (501 W. Main St.) are $30-$45. Visit kentuckycenter.org and bluenote.com.

Rockin’ For Kids
It goes without saying that if you’re young and have cancer, you don’t have a day off from uphill battles. Music is the psychological break from all manners of sickness, and that theory proves positive at this Sunday’s Rockin’ For Kids benefit concert.

Seven bands battle it out for a limousine ride on behalf of youth-driven organization School of Rock: Third Void, No Limit, What’s Up, Ragnarok, Ground Zero, Whiplash and Two Til Midnight try to raise money for music therapy initiatives at Kosair Children’s Hospital.
More details are at urock2.com. Competitors take the stage at 2 p.m. at Slugger Field (401 E. Main St.). Call School of Rock for more details at 266-5552. Cost is $5.

Music Cast
Left Lane Cruiser are out in support of their Alive Records album and play Wednesday at The Rudyard Kipling (422 W. Oak St., 636-1311). Listen online at Bluegrass Catastrophe.